The immediate reaction of the Maltese to the Pope’s surprise resignation yesterday was one of utter disbelief, as evidenced by a vox pop carried out by The Times shortly after the news broke out.

The news coming out of the Vatican – that a Pope was resigning for the first time in 600 years – was so surprising to some in Valletta they initially thought it was a joke.

“This must be some kind of carnival joke,” said Christopher Saliba, 41, from Żurrieq.

On being ascertained that his resignation had been verified, Mr Saliba replied: “He’s probably ill – he must be.”

Many other people were surprised that his ill health was the reason cited for the Pontiff’s resignation.

“This is indeed a huge surprise,” said Alfred Calleja, 73, from Ħamrun, as his wife nodded in agreement.

“He didn’t seem to be doing too poorly; I wouldn’t have thought his health was bad enough to prompt him to resign.

“He was a good Pope, I liked him a lot and I feel sorry for him. Perhaps our own cardinal (Prospero Grech) will be appointed Pope! But perhaps he’s too old now.”

According to Alia Grech, 28, from Msida, although Benedict XVI was a good Pope, his resignation might actually be good news as the world needed a better leader and more change.

Michael Turner applauded the Pope’s “strong” and “very sensible” decision.

“The Vatican wasn’t aware – he suddenly sprung it on them – which is outside the box to a certain extent. During his short time as Pope, to my mind he’s grown.

“When he went to Britain, where he could have expected a fairly tough reception, he wowed the Brits and earned a lot of respect.”

Ecumenically, the Anglican Church, which Mr Turner was now a member of, is now much closer to the Catholic Church then it was 10 or 20 years ago.

“In a way, I’m sad but he’s been a very practical, sensible man, even if he does feel too old.”